Transcript WALT: How do Sociological perspectives explain the ‘Self

WALT: How do Sociological
perspectives explain the
‘Self’ and ‘Identity’?
WILFs:
D - Can describe, explain and summarise how Sociological perspectives
explain the self and identity
B - Can assess how Sociological perspectives explain the self and
identity.
A - Can evaluate how Sociological perspectives explain the self and
identity
Definitions – Think Pair Share
Identity
Is a person's conception and expression of their individuality
or group affiliations: who I am
Self
Is an individual person as the object of his or her own
reflective consciousness: who I think I am/How I see myself
WHO ARE YOU?
How you see yourself = SELF
Who we are/personality= IDENTITY
This usually consists of some
combination of STATUSES you occupy
and other ATTRIBUTES you feel you
possess.
•Nouns = Identity = Statuses
•Adjectives = Self-Concept = Attributes
What is Symbolic Interactionism
• Aims to understand identity
Key thinkers:
Charles Horton Cooley
George Herbert Mead
Cooley and Mead were primarily concerned with the
emergence of the individual's sense of self.
Looking Glass Self
Cooley (1922)
me
• Called the
side of our self the ‘looking glass self’,
referring to how, after a while, we begin to view ourselves
as if others’ eyes are a mirror.
• Our image of ourselves is largely a reflection of how other
people react to us– their “reflected appraisals” of us.
Cooley called this the "looking glass self."
• Is what others think of us important to our own sense of
self?
Your Turn
• Write a reflected appraisal
Cooley’s 3 Stages of Self-Development
1.
recognition of oneself as distinct from the physical
environment
2. language acquisition
3. development of looking-glass self –we interpret actions of
others toward us as mirrors in which we see ourselves
Elements of the Looking-glass self
•1. our perception of how we appear to another person
•2. our estimate of the judgement the other person makes
about us
•3. some emotional feeling about this judgement, such as pride
or shame
Looking Glass Self in Action
Why are the REFLECTED APPRAISALS of others so
important….??
Write down 3 reasons:
Cooley
Cooley argued that the self is defined and developed through
symbolic interaction. (SI)
•Our image of ourselves is largely a reflection of how other
people react to us– their “reflected appraisals” of us. Cooley
called this the "looking glass self."
Mead: Self = “I” + “Me”
•George Herbert Mead's theory of the self distinguished
between two aspects: the "I" and the "Me."
•The "I" is the impulsive and creative aspect of the self and the
"Me" is the socialized aspect of the self which is composed of
internalized norms and values and is ever mindful of its social
reflection.
Mead
He argued that humans interact through the use of symbols such as
Visual signs (red
traffic light =
stop)
Sounds (siren =
emergency)
Visual gestures
(waving = hello)
Expressions
(frown = angry)
Verbal (scream =
fear)
Shared understanding of these symbols and how to respond to them form the
basis of communication.
Whilst we are each conscious individuals, the way in which we choose to
behave is influenced by the social context of that behaviour.
An example….
• A father is angry at his daughter's behaviour and tells her to
go to her room and stay there until dinner.
What does the girl do?
• The girl starts to protest, but then checks herself and does
what she is told.
• The spontaneous, willful "I" wants to protest, but the "Me"
is concerned about her reflection in her father's eyes and
complies.
How does it link to symbolic interactionism
Symbolic interactionism: A sociological perspective on self
and society based on the ideas of George Mead (1934). The
central theme of symbolic interactionism is that human life is
based on the use of symbols. Through language and
communication, symbols provide the means by which reality
is constructed.
Mead’s work: Human behaviour is social because people
interact in terms of symbols. Symbols stand for other objects
and imply certain behaviour. For example; The ‘ no entry’
symbol implies to the majority of people that they cannot
enter. Therefore Mead’s work is credible that we follow
symbols, however as the majority follow this rule, does this
show there must be some sort of collective norms and values?
Can we really say that reality being so complex comes down
to simply the use of symbols? However, Mead’s work is
accurate that we do associates symbols with meanings.
Explaining Deviance & Creativity
Now, the socialized "Me" does not always win out. Mead
attributed both deviance (or antisocial behaviour) and
creativity to the times when the "I" wins out over the “Me.”
•Examples?
How useful is Mead’s theory to
an understanding of society?
• Can you think of at least TWO strengths and TWO criticisms
How useful is Mead’s theory to an
understanding of society?
• Although Mead’s theory is over 70 years old,
humans do relate the meanings of symbols to
what they do, i.e at a red traffic light, the
majority of people would stop. Therefore,
Mead is correct to an extent.
• However, Mead states that we as individuals
shape society, but for the majority to abide by
the symbols, rules and regulations there must
be some sort of collective conscience, norms
and values.
• In order to have shared meanings, it must
feed off some sort of structural factors.
What’s this?
Development of the “Me”
So, the question remains, how do we develop this "Me" -- the
reflective, socialized sense of self?
Observing children's behaviour, Mead identified two stages
that occur as children develop this reflexive sense of self
called the “Me” -- they are known as the play stage and the
game stage.
What do you think happens in..
The play stage?
The game stage?
Play stage….’taking the role of the
other’
•In the early part of the play stage -- around three years of age -children pretend to be people in different statuses: daddy,
mummy, postie, doctor, police officer, and so on. They imitate
their speech and activities, delivering imaginary letters,
sweeping imaginary floors, performing imaginary operations,
and so on.
•Adults may call this “make believe,” but this is serious business
in terms of developing a mature sense of self. By pretending to
be people who occupy other statuses, children come to
understand the perspectives of people other than themselves.
.
Game stage
•Later in life, the child begins to engage in team sports and
group activities which require that she not just perform one
role, but she must be able to understand what is going on from
the perspective of all of the others involved in the game. That
is, taking the role of multiple others at one time.
•Mead actually uses baseball as an example in his work. Who
can explain this?
•The same is true of netball, football, and any other team sport
you can imagine.
What is the ‘Looking Glass Self’?
What is the ‘I’ and the ‘Me’.
What is the Play Stage and the
Game Stage?
Erving Goffman
• Goffman saw the social world as being rather like
a drama, or a performance in a play.
• His work is therefore referred to as a
dramaturgical approach.
Erving Goffman (1959)
• Dramaturgical
approach
‘all the world is
a stage…’
Goffman’s idea..
Individuals put on a performance
for others to convince them
about who they are..
We can adopt unlimited roles in
our lives..
Teamwork
Goffman believes that ‘actors’ work in teams:
We cooperate with one another..we feed each other lines to
give an impression….
Let’s try an application activity:
For each of the following ‘teams’:
List their props
Explain how they act….
Key idea: Front stage v Back stage
Which areas of life do you think are Front and Back stage?
Goffman uses the term:
‘Impression Management’
What do you think he means?
Front or back stage?
Stigma
Goffman developed his work by
analysing the difficulties some
groups face in constructing a
positive social identity….
Think Pair Share:
What groups are ‘stigmatised’
in/by society?
Becker (1963): labelling theory
An early Interactionist theorist – links to deviance
Deviance only becomes deviant when a social group has
labelled it so…there is no such thing as a deviant act.
Whether or not the label is applied depends on how the act is
interpreted by the audience.
Stuart Hall
Identity ‘sutures’ the
subject into the structure
of society
Applying theories to Identity
How useful are these approaches in understanding how we
create our identity?
How do they say we create our identity?
Are we always ‘active’ in our identity creation?
Cooley
Mead
Goffman
Cooley
Mead
Goffman
•Looking glass
self
•Reflected
appraisals
•Self-image
•Role taking
•Inner
conversations
•Symbols
•‘I’ and ‘Me
•Play
stage/Game
Stage
•Dramaturgy
•Front and
Back Stage
•Impression
Management
•Selfawareness
•Stigma
Symbolic interactionism
Assess the extent to which social
identity is shaped by interactions
with others. (24 marks)
Rally Table
Item 1B
Social action or interactionist theories emphasise the importance of
the self. Individuals develop a self-concept, a picture of
themselves, which is an important influence on the way they act.
This self-concept is developed through interactions with other
people because it is based partly on how others react to the
individual.
This idea was developed by Cooley, who introduced the term
‘looking-glass self’ to describe this process. Critics of this approach
argue that too much emphasis is given to individuals’ ability to
shape their own identity. Structural approaches such as
functionalism and Marxism are more likely to focus on the role of
social institutions or inequalities of power in shaping identity.
Using material from Item 1B and elsewhere, assess the extent to
which social identity is shaped by interactions with others. (24
marks)
Concepts and issues such as the
following may appear:
looking-glass self; impression management; frontstage/backstage; master status; I/me/self; socialisation;
stigmatised identity; ideology; macro/micro;
structure/action;
meaning; labelling: societal reaction; negotiation; selfconcept; consensus;
conflict; suturing the subject
Structure v Action
Structure
Functionalism – consensus
Marxism – conflict
Deterministic (external
forces influence/shape
identity)
Action
Symbolic Interactionism:
Identity shaped by
individuals
Free Will – we have the
power to shape our own
identity
Homework
Examine the contribution of interactionist views to our
understanding of identity.
(24 marks)
Read through your notes, the photocopied chapter on Culture
and Identity, and other sources
Create a plan for the essay: Remember S/W!